


Not His Real Mom

by rangersandlegends



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Pre-Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangersandlegends/pseuds/rangersandlegends
Summary: Felicity never thought she'd be here-having to adjust to being the mother of a twelve year old, hiding out from a crime lord. But here she is.





	Not His Real Mom

She had signed adoption papers, of course. A week after the wedding, they had gone before a judge, with Jean representing them. William had wanted it, the sense of security that came with a back-up parent. Oliver was “Dad” and she was “Felicity”. And of course it shouldn’t be any other way. Samantha was, and forever would be, William’s mom. She was just his dad’s live-in girlfriend turned step-mom.

 

William loved her. He never said it, but she knew. The same way she knew she loved him. She never said it, either, not wanting to push him or make him feel uncomfortable. She just tried to show him, by always being there. Helping him with homework, encouraging his interests, listening to his concerns. She learned the names of the kids at school, his teachers, what his new school was like.

 

Oliver did the heavy lifting, though. He had a monopoly on the kitchen, he set bedtime, and, when William couldn’t handle his emotions, he always ran to his dad. Felicity tried not to be hurt. He had lived with Oliver twice as long as her. She told herself it wasn’t because Oliver was his real dad and she was just a step.

 

All of it came crashing down when Oliver left. Well, he was incarcerated for life, but she didn’t think of it that way, because it didn’t feel that way. It felt like he had left. She was now his sole guardian in the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of a scared boy. She knew she had to be strong for William, but she didn’t know how. William’s worst fear was that his father would be taken from him, and it had happened.

 

True to her word, Felicity worked with Lyla to get them into protective custody. While their new lives were being set up, they lived at ARGUS. They had one room with two twin beds and an adjoining bathroom. It was soundproof, which created an eerie effect. Each breath she took sounded like gale-force winds. It amplified the silence between them. They had packed only the necessities, which was mostly a few changes of clothes. Felicity had grabbed an informal family photo (they had never taken anything official of the three of them, not even at the reception), and a picture of William and Samantha that William kept at his bedside.

 

Felicity spent those first few days trying to track Diaz, and William spent them avoiding the world. They didn’t talk about what happened, or next steps. He would barely mumble good night at the end of each day.

 

On the second day, Felicity asked William if he needed to send a message to any of his friends who might worry. He reminded her he had no friends in Star City. He rarely talked about the life he had left behind in Central, but it was clear he had vastly preferred it.

 

Once their lives just outside of Keystone had been established, they moved. It was a small town with a bland name that no one had ever heard of. Their new names were Sandra and Conner. She had been aged up and assigned the role of biological mother. The neighboring town had a Best Buy, where she had been given gainful employment. ARGUS dropped them off at their new house with their bags and a secure phone. The rest was up to her.

 

Felicity never imagined at the age of thirty having to usher her twelve year old son into a fake home to start a new life. But as she unlocked the door, she realized that’s what she was doing. She led William on a quick tour of the space. There was a living room, connected to a kitchen. The single hallway led to two bedrooms across from each other, with a bathroom in between. Felicity let William choose between the two seemingly identical rooms. The house was already furnished, and the kitchen, upon further inspection, had all of the necessities. Something else she’d have to deal with, since this town was probably limited on take-out.

 

William called out to her that he had chosen the wrong room. Apparently in addition to furniture and bedding, they had gotten clothes. While that was one more thing off her list of worries, it just meant sinking further into their secret identities. Felicity’s closet had every imaginable style of black blouse, some jeans, and flats. William had gotten polos, jeans, and sneakers. She reassured him they could go into town and fill in whatever was missing, but he was disinterested.

 

Among the papers Felicity had been presented with was information on William’s new school. It was K-8, and he was enrolled. He just needed to come in for orientation. That wasn’t until August. It had been determined by his old school that, despite missing so much time at year’s end, he had successfully completed sixth grade. Yet another fact William was less than enamored with.

 

Work started for her the next day. She had been given explicit directives that she needed to be an average employee. Felicity was a tech genius; Sandra was a single mom who just needed work. She could understand that all too well. While she worked, William would need to stay home and under the radar. Lyla had been kind enough to set him up with a gaming system and some of the newest titles. Felicity promised to get him more with her employee discount.

 

So they fell into a routine. She’d go to work while William still slept, and get home to find him playing his games. Dinner was mac and cheese, or spaghetti, or fettuccine. Pasta was her only go-to recipe. Paired with unseasoned vegetables, she pretended it was healthy.

 

William really only spoke to her when they were running out of something: toilet paper, soap, milk. Other than that, he mostly sat and stared into the distance. She’d try and engage him, but he’d just shrug, or say he was tired, or go back to his room.

 

Felicity talked to Lyla about signing William up for a sport, or letting him go to the library. She got Lyla to agree to supervised walks around the block. When she suggested to William that they go on walks together, he just said he’d rather stay in his room. 

 

Oliver could’ve done it. Oliver could’ve gotten through to him. They had that special father-son bond that had developed relatively quickly, given the circumstances. Oliver would be able to cook for him, and convince him to go on walks, and overall just  _ parent  _ him in a way that Felicity would never be able to. Felicity wondered if this is how her own mother felt, parenting a child that had more in common with her father than with herself. She thought about what Donna Smoak would do in this situation. If being gentle and understanding wasn’t working, then she would switch tactics. She’d become authoritarian. She was the boss of this household, like it or not. 

 

She came home that day and walked right up to William, arms crossed, blocking his view of the screen. “You’re helping me back dinner tonight.”

 

“I don’t feel like it,” he muttered.

 

“I can’t tell you to feel like it, but I can tell you to do it. And I am. So put down the controller, and wash your hands.”

 

“Fine,” he grumbled, slamming down his controller.

 

And she had to admit, he was a better cook than her. He could chop vegetables rather finely, and he didn’t measure ingredients, as much as perfectly estimate. He really was his father’s son. They actually had mildly seasoned broccoli that night. 

 

The days progressed, with Felicity asking more and more of William. She couldn’t get him to leave the house, but she figured she was leading up to that. Help cook dinner, dust the living room, clean the bathroom, work on a math workbook she bought him. But he shunned the idea of going outside. Finally, at a dinner that William had cooked almost single-handedly, she brought it up. 

 

“Buddy,” she used the nickname Oliver favored, “why don’t you want to leave the house?”

 

“I’m safest inside.”

 

“Yes, but Lyla said it would be okay if we stayed close, and I was with you.”

 

“Yeah, well, what does she know?”

 

Felicity started. “She’s in charge of the best spy agency in the world. I think she would know.”

 

He looked up sharply. “Did she keep Dad from being taken?”

 

“No one took your dad. He went with them of his own accord.” He had left them.

 

“Dad would never leave me. He promised me. You both promised me!”

 

Her mother once told her that one of the hardest things about being a parent is when your kid is right, and you’re wrong. The older you got, the more often it happened. Here, William was right. Oliver had promised he would do everything in his power not to leave William. That much was in his control. William couldn’t fathom his dad purposely leaving them. He trusted his dad that much. So, his dad had to have been taken. And if they took his dad….

 

“William, are you afraid that the people who took your dad are going to take you?” He said nothing, staring at her like he needed her to read his mind. “You know that’s not going to happen, right?”

 

“Why not?”   
  


“Oh, buddy, the FBI took your father because he broke a law. An unfair law, but a law all the same. You haven’t done anything wrong. We’re hiding from the bad guys that your father fought against, not the FBI.”

 

“But someone could still take me?”

 

Felicity nodded. “It’s possible. But I’m doing everything I can to make sure that no one takes you away from me, or me away from you. You and I are a package deal. Nothing is going to break us apart. Not the FBI, not Ricardo Diaz, and not anyone who lives outside this house.”

 

“You promise?”

 

“I promise.”

 

“Okay. We can go outside.”

 

That was the first of many mother-son walks around the block. Sometimes they’d talk, sometimes they’d stay silent. Felicity would tell him stories about his dad, and William would tell her stories about his mom. Felicity had only met Samantha twice, and had liked the woman. But the way William talked about her made Felicity like her even more. She had raised an amazing boy, all as a young single mother. She knew how hard that was.

 

“Felicity, who do you talk to?”

 

“What do you mean, buddy?”

 

“On that phone. Do you talk to Dad?”

 

Felicity sighed. “No, I can’t. We can’t have any contact with your dad. It’s too dangerous. I mostly talk to Lyla and Curtis. Let them know how things are going, how you are.”

 

William nodded thoughtfully. “Do you think I could call someone?”

 

“Who would you want to call?”

 

“My friend Dax, from back in Central City. We would talk sometimes. I think he should know I’m okay.”

 

“That sounds good. I’ll check with Lyla, and you can call Dax.”

 

William called his friend, and smiled. For the first time in a month, he smiled. It made Felicity beam. She couldn’t give him much, but she could give him this. 

 

She and Oliver sometimes talked about what it would have been like if Oliver had known about William from the beginning. How he could’ve spent his billions on giving William the perfect life. He never would’ve gotten on the boat, and he would’ve been William’s real dad through and through. Samantha would still be alive. They could’ve made something of a family.

 

Felicity reminded him that it was a fantasy. Oliver was hardly a role model back then, and there was no guarantee he would’ve left Laurel for Samantha. Even if he did, it wouldn’t have been love, probably never would be. He still might’ve gotten on the boat, and William still would’ve lost him. This was the way it was, because it was the way it had to be. 

 

Now Felicity was wondering what could’ve been. If Oliver hadn’t turned himself in, they could’ve been a real family. They’d still live together in Star City, and she’d still have her husband. But then she reminded herself that Diaz would’ve won if they didn’t have the help of the FBI, which never would’ve happened without Oliver leaving. She knew her husband well enough to know he had no regrets, but she had so many. For William’s sake, she did her best to put them aside.

 

It was during one of their walks, that William brought up his new idea.

 

“We should go to Central City.”

 

“You know why we can’t live in Central City. Anyone could recognize you there. We need to stay out of the public eye.”

 

“I don’t mean living there. I mean, for one day, I need to be there.”

 

“Is it Dax? Do you need to see him?”

 

“No. I need to see my mom.”

 

Had William become so far removed from the real world that he thought Samantha was still alive? Because she didn’t know what she could do with that.

 

“Buddy, you know your mom...you can’t see her if you go there.”

 

“No, but it’s the closest I can get.”

 

Right. Samantha was buried in Central City, where her parents lived. The car accident excuse allowed them to have a closed casket funeral, evading any questions about the nature of her injuries. 

 

“Why do you need to visit your mom?”

 

“Did you forget?” Hurt crept into William’s voice. Forget what? William had never expressed interest in paying his respects before, as far as she knew, and Oliver had never mentioned it. But he clearly expected her to understand something. She knew she’d hurt his feelings if she couldn’t read his mind now, possibly losing some of the progress they had made. Apparently she had taken too long to respond, as William froze in his tracks. “You can’t even remember this? I thought you cared.”

 

He ran back to the house, and Felicity knew better than to chase him. She would be able to see him on his way to the front door anyway, so he was safe. What had she forgotten? It wasn’t William’s birthday, or Samantha’s. It was still May. She thought through things that happened in May. Tommy’s death, Oliver telling her he loved her, the defeat of Damien Darhk, and….Lian Yu. Samantha’s death. She hadn’t even considered that William would want to honor that date, or that he would even know what day it was, considering the jumbled nature of the whole experience.

 

When she got inside the house, William’s bedroom door was closed. She knocked.

 

“William, can we talk?”

 

“Go away.”

 

“I know why you want to see your mom.”

 

“Oh, so you figured it out?”

 

“I’m sorry, William, I wasn’t keeping track of the days. I’ll talk to Lyla about going to Central City for the day so you can be there.”

 

“She’ll say no.”

 

“She might, but we won’t know until we ask, right?”

 

William said nothing.

 

Lyla said no.

 

Felicity didn’t know what to do. If it were up to her, she’d let William go. She was willing to take the risk, but apparently Diaz had operatives in Central City that they had yet to pin down. She was able to convince Lyla to put some flowers on the grave, and send them the picture. But that understandably wouldn’t be enough for William. 

 

She and William were finally at a great place. They were planning a visit to the grocery store to get the makings for a recipe Oliver had taught William. He was working his way through his summer reading list, often telling Felicity what he was reading about. He seemed to be enjoying her company. If things went further astray, she feared the worst possible outcome. William would do something reckless, and leave. He might find a way to Central by himself. She needed to keep him here at all costs, even at the cost of their relationship.

 

She broached the topic at dinner that night. “I talked to Lyla.”

 

“She said no, didn’t she?”

 

“She did. But she offered to lay flowers on the grave, and send us a photo, to make sure you know she’s being well taken care of.”

 

“Did you even try to convince her?”

 

“Of course I did. But Diaz still has men in Central City, and they could recognize you, especially if you go to a familiar place.”

 

“I’ll be in my room.” He pushed himself away from the table, and half ran back to his room. 

 

It could’ve been worse. He could’ve yelled, or thrown something, or berated her. He was strangely calm, considering. She’d been pretty upset with Lyla herself, so she expected William to take it out on her as well. 

 

After a bit, Felicity knocked on his door. “William, are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine. I’m in my room, like a good little boy.”

 

“William, you know this is for your safety, right?”

 

He opened the door to meet her gaze. “First you convince me I’m safe, so you can force me to leave the house. Now I actually want to go somewhere, and you won’t let me. Which is it: am I safe or not?”

 

“You’re safe here, but you won’t be in Central City. That’s why we’re here, and not there.”

 

“I’m going. And you can’t stop me.”

 

“Yes, I can. I say you can’t go, and that’s final.”

 

“Who says you get to control me?”

 

Being tough wasn’t working. Time to switch tactics. “The judge. We both agreed I should adopt you. And when I did, we both made promises. I promised I would always take care of you and do what was best for you, and you agreed to trust the decisions I made to that end. Most kids don’t get a say in who their parents are, and most parents don’t choose their kids. But we did. We chose each other. So you’re going to listen to me, because that’s what we promised, okay?”

 

He looked down. “Okay.”

 

“I mean it, William. I love you.” It just came out. She hadn’t planned on saying it, but it felt right to finally do so. 

 

“Okay.” She wasn’t expecting him to say it back, but still felt disappointed that that was his only response. 

 

“Now come finish your food. I’ll reheat it, and we can have a nice dinner. I’d really like it if you could tell me more stories about your mom.”

 

He gave her a half-smile. “Yeah.”

 

Felicity didn’t know how long they’d be living here, when or if it would ever be safe enough to return to Star City. She didn’t know if she’d ever see her husband again, if their family would ever be complete again. She didn’t know when they’d return to their friends and their real lives. She wasn’t even certain when they could be Felicity and William again. But she held out hope on the one thing she now knew: William was her son, and she was his parent. And that was never going to change.


End file.
